VOLLEYBALL: Dakota senior's back with a vengeance

Leah Hofmann was so excited for her junior season that it couldn’t come fast enough.

However, that excitement quickly turned into disbelief after she suffered a season-ending injury in a pre-season workout on the final rotation of a drill.

The date was June 29, 2011 and just before the noon hour.

“It wasn’t even tryouts, it was conditioning and my coach wasn’t even there,” Hofmann recalled. “We had to touch the ball 10 times in a row at the net and I was on number nine.”

Hofmann went up for her 10th touch and her knee rammed right into the volleyball basket.

Hofmann immediately fell to the ground clutching her left knee.

The original diagnosis she received was she’d be out two weeks.

Then came a visit to another doctor and she was told she’d be out five weeks after the original stint in rehab didn’t seem to change much. She couldn’t run, or walk on it that well and she still was in a lot of pain.

Finally, after a trip to a fifth doctor, she learned what was really wrong with her knee.

While sitting with her dad in the doctor’s office, the news came back that she wasn’t ready to hear, she had a torn ACL and meniscus.

“When it happened I honestly felt my volleyball career was over,” Hofmann said. “I wanted to play in college, but I didn’t even think that was possible after this. I didn’t think I would ever get back and if I did was I going to be able to improve.”

Her dad asked how long she’s be out and his words were, “Six months.”

“I thought I heard six weeks, so I was thinking that’s not so bad,” Hofmann said. “Then he said again, six to nine months and my heart dropped. I started crying immediately.”

Hofmann called her coach, but couldn’t get through the conversation and handed the phone to her dad to finish it off.

“It was terrible,” said Hofmann, who didn’t have surgery until nearly a month after the injury.

But Hofmann didn’t give up and dedicated herself to getting back.

“All through physical therapy all I kept thinking about was volleyball, volleyball, volleyball,” Hofmann said. “That’s what pushed me through. I worked out 10 times harder because I had to get back all the muscle I lost in my leg.

“I couldn’t jump like I used to,” Hofmann continued. “Honestly, I missed like an entire year.”

Even though rehab was going well, Hofmann still was having difficulty knowing she couldn’t be on the court helping her teammates, but stuck on the sideline being more of a cheerleader.

“I felt I wasn’t doing anything good for the team,” Hofmann said. “But they were all there for me, every step of the way.”

Her teammates were by her side after surgery and at her house when she arrived home to welcome her home.

“They were amazing,” Hofmann said.

Hofmann was on the bench when her team won the first two games against Lake Orion in a Class A state quarterfinal only to watch as the Dragons came back to win the next three and advance to the state semifinals.

“I was on the edge of my seat the whole time,” Hofmann said. “We were so close. It was heartbreaking. Seeing all the seniors cry because that was it for them. They deserved it so much.”

This year was a different story for the Cougars at the quarters, as she helped lead her squad past Birmingham Seaholm, taking things in three games.

“It was a very emotional six months,” Hofmann said. “It impacted my life.”

Hofmann admits she’s still not at 100 percent, but that’s not going to stop her from getting on the volleyball court when Dakota heads to Battle Creek to take part in a Class A state semifinal match Friday.

She’ll leap out of the Kellogg Arena, reconstructed knee and all, if that’s needed for the Cougars to reach their end goal … a Class A state championship.